New Delhi: A day ahead of the crucial floor test for the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar, JD(U) expressed confidence in winning the trust vote as their national president, sworn in as Bihar Chief Minister for a historic ninth term, formed a new government with the BJP, news agency PTI reported.
State parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, convening a meeting of the JD(U) legislative party, played down the absence of "two or three MLAs," attributing it to "unavoidable circumstances" about which prior information had been provided. He assured that the absentees would be present in the assembly during the floor test, PTI reported.
"We in the NDA have a total strength of 128 MLAs. In the 243-member assembly, we are comfortably placed. All our MLAs will be present inside the House where a no-confidence motion against the Speaker will precede the trust vote," PTI quoted Chaudhary as saying.
While evading a direct response regarding the exact number of absent MLAs, Chaudhary asserted that nearly all members were in attendance, with the few exceptions having valid reasons for their absence. He assured that they would participate in the proceedings the following day.
The three missing MLAs were Sudharshan Kumar Singh, Bima Bharti, and Dilip Roy, PTI cited its JD(U) sources as saying. The JD(U) holds a total of 45 MLAs, excluding the chief minister, who is a member of the legislative council.
Regarding the schedule for the upcoming proceedings, Chaudhary outlined that the House would first address the no-confidence motion against the Speaker. He explained that 38 MLAs would need to support the motion, leading to the Speaker's removal and the subsequent appointment of a deputy to oversee proceedings until a new Speaker is elected.